A fish out of water

A fish out of water

The brave men and women of the Indonesian Military (TNI) on
Tuesday commemorated the 59th anniversary of the armed forces.
Few elements in this nation-state are so closely associated with
the opus of independence as the armed forces. It was through the
combined effort of a fledgling, yet resolute, armed force,
emphatic diplomacy and the people's painful sacrifice, that
independence was brought forth to the world's largest
archipelago.

Through its history, the TNI has evolved according to the
times and challenges before them. Sometimes it is a natural
realignment, other times they were coerced into change. For much
of the last four decades the TNI has largely been a tool of
coercion to perpetuate autocratic regimes. While there were
memorable highlights -- such as the participation in United
Nations peacekeeping missions and the 1981 Woyla hijacking rescue
-- this period, for the most part, must be remembered as a dark
time in the military's long history. A legacy of arbitrary
killings, tortures, abductions and dubious profit-taking ventures
to build plush retirement funds for top officers.

From a ragtag force that brought hope to an oppressed people,
the TNI eventually became a resented force; the oppressors
themselves. The result has been a sense of false entitlement for
anyone wearing a military uniform -- to many here the epitome of
absolute power. Many of these once revered figures have let their
discipline run astray.

We often hear their excuses of how the military was "cajoled"
into serving the Soeharto regime, or about their eternal mission
to ensure the survival of the state with all its iconic symbols,
or how it is the chaos of a civilian run administration that has
propelled the military to remain politically engaged.

These arguments may or may not have merit, and for now we
shall leave it to military historians to discuss. What is clear
is that we are now in a time of change.

The nation now enters a new era of democracy with the first
ever directly elected president. Likewise, the military should
utilize this opportunity by asserting the most fundamental of
tenets of any democratic system: That the military is an
instrument of the people.

One of the greatest lessons the military will have to endure
in the coming years -- provided they have the political will to
do so -- is a disposition to become subservient to a
democratically elected civilian administration.

The parameters are set -- the military is no longer allotted
seats in the legislature; the police are now independent of the
military infrastructure; the newly passed TNI bill also bars
active military personnel from engaging in business and joining
political parties.

But here in, like the debate of the TNI bill, lies the crux of
the matter. Is there sufficient political will from the TNI to
change their mindset?

Many articles and issues were debated in the deliberation of
the bill, chief among them was the military's territorial role.
It became glaringly evident during these debates -- both inside
and outside the House of Representatives -- that there exists an
inherent distrust of the military institution. The essence of the
debate on whether the military should have such regional commands
really centered on the inherent fear over the TNI's
predisposition to abuse political power through these commands.

Laws can be amended and new ones introduced, but it will not
help to improve the TNI's image. It doesn't matter how good a
written law is if the subject being regulated does not generate
trust.

This is what the TNI faces as it enters its seventh decade.
Fortunately, the advent of political reform has provided a
context for which the TNI can re-establish its image as
apolitical guardians of the people.

The late Gen. A.H. Nasution once described the relationship of
the military to the people as a fish is to water. If it does not
change its mindset, our beloved TNI will continue to be a fish
out of water.